| Native Name: | |
| Director: | Jorge Thielen Armand |
| Cinematography: | Rodrigo Michelangeli |
| Editing: | Felipe Guerrero |
| Music: | Leila Bordreuil |
| Studio: | La Faena Films, Mutokino, Viking Film, In Vivo Films, Breaker, Ardimages UK, Genuino Films |
| Language: | Spanish |
Fortitude (Spanish; Castilian: La Fortaleza) is a 2020 internationally co-produced drama film directed by Jorge Thielen Armand.[1] It premiered in the Tiger Competition of the 49th International Film Festival Rotterdam.[2] A co-production between Venezuela, Colombia, France and The Netherlands, the film premiered in Venezuelan cinemas on 23 December 2021.
La Fortaleza is inspired by the real life story of the filmmaker's father, Jorge Roque Thielen, who in turn plays the main character. It is noted that the film oscillates between fiction and reality.
Roque, the protagonist, dives into the jungle to escape from his alcoholism, his demons and the social and economic crisis in Venezuela. However, the meeting with old friends and the promises of gold at a work in a mine divert his desire for redemption and he enters a vicious circle of violence around mining. This will make him sink in a cycle that devours his interior. In that moment, he will need the fortitude to emerge from the darkness and walk toward a new beginning.
Jordan Cronk of Film Comment claimed that La Fortaleza was "a solemn tale of exile and redemption".[3] Sergio Monsalve of El Nacional wrote that "in its paradoxes lies the best cinema of Venezuela".[4] It also received the Special Mention in the Rome Independent Film Festival 2020.[5] [6] It was awarded the Grand Prix Marchica for Best Film and the Best Actor Award at the Festival International De Cinéma Et De Mémoire Commune in Nador, Morocco.[7] [8]
It won the Audience Award for Best Film at the Iberoamerican Film Festival of Quito.[9]
The film was released concurrently with El Father Plays Himself, a documentary by Mo Scarpelli about the making of La Fortaleza.[10]
| Festival Biarritz Amérique-Latine | Jury Prize | Jorge Thielen Armand | [11] [12] | ||
| Festival de la Crítica Cinematográfica de Caracas | Best Film | Jorge Thielen Armand | [13] | ||
| Best Director | Jorge Thielen Armand | ||||
| Best Cinematography | Rodrigo Michelangeli | ||||
| Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of Venezuela | Best Actor | Jorge Roque Thielen H. | [14] | ||
| Festival del Cine Venezolano | Best Supporting Actor | Yoni Naranjo | [15] | ||
| Cinema Tropical Awards | Best Latin American Film of the Year | Jorge Thielen Armand | [16] | ||
| Directors Guild of Canada | DGC Discovery Award | Jorge Thielen Armand | [17] |